KPLU Local News
(2010-08-30)
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Photo by: Nourish The Thought
The lunch lady will ask hungry teenagers for an extra 50-cents in Seattle this year. In Renton, middle and high school students will have to shell out another quarter. The hikes brings school lunch in the two cities up to 3-bucks. That's higher than most other districts in the region.
Eric Boutin says he knows it'll be tough for some families to swallow. He's the head of nutrition services at Seattle Public Schools.
"It's obviously a difficult time to be increasing prices, but this pricing more adequately reflects the true cost of the meals to produce them," he says. "It's been underpriced for some period of time."
He says even with the new price tag it's a challenge to make nutritious meals. Lunch money has to cover everything from labor to cleaning supplies. Only about a third of it goes to food.
Boutin says despite the barebones budget, lunchrooms are finding ways to improve the menu. They're using healthier ingredients.
"We serve a lot more whole grains," he says. "Our pizza cheese is less than 30-percent fat. We serve a lot more fresh fruits and whole fruits and vegetables than we did in the past."
He says some parents would like to see quinoa side dishes and more local foods. But it would take a much bigger price hike to make a school lunch like that.
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